How AEW Killed "Being The Elite"

Cody’s cupped ear in the Being The Elite credits spoke to just how close to the ground his was. He’d joined up with the right folk at the right time whilst working through his fabled independent wrestling list since leaving WWE in 2016, but he was also the one with some of the biggest ideas for just how far a newfound friendship could be taken. The gang had smashed a glass ceiling with their YouTube hit, but YouTube wasn't the ceiling for the son of 'The American Dream'.

Joining the trio alongside fellow Bullet Club members Hangman Page, Marty Scurll and the rotating cast of characters the gang routinely worked with or against on the circuit, BTE quickly became the most vital watch of the week. It was cathartic in the face of sterile WWE output, it was a window into a thriving independent scene beyond head drops and endless flips on live streams and iPPVs, and it rewarded fans of the guys' actual Ring Of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling runs with easter egg add-ons. Eventually the script flipped - the real meat of their respective storylines was to be found on YouTube, with the group teasing or playing up to their traits on the actual wrestling shows. Crucially too, it was so so funny.

Few things relate fans to wrestlers than when they genuinely make them laugh. It's one of the key reasons The Rock and D-Generation X got over during a time of the anti-hero a*skicker Stone Cold Steve Austin, and why WWE have persisted with forcing the funnies on folk even if it doesn't remotely suit the gimmick. They tried it with the stoic Randy Orton in 2004. It only ever worked in Vince McMahon's mind with John Cena. It never worked with Roman Reigns a decade after that. It will continue not to work with Seth Rollins in 2019.

But it worked over and over again on Being The Elite. Host your own 'Try Not To Laugh' night with Flip Gordon and Matt Jackson paying homage to Terry Funk and Dennis Stamp on Beyond The Mat. Or Yujiro Takahashi giving The Elite four letters and both barrels. Or Juice Robinson's desperate search for "gossip for the boys". It wasn't just wrestling comedy done well, it was wrestling comedy perfected.

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